The Coalition of Civil Society Organization of Nigeria (COCSON), says the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) did not acquire property abroad contrary to the claim by Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
Addressing a press conference on behalf of the coalition on Monday in Abuja, the President, Transparency and Accountability Group, Ayo Ologun, insisted that the agency has not acquired any property abroad for the past 30 years.
It said it contracted an independent investigator whose primary term of reference was to investigate the accusations made by the respected Falana against the management of NIMASA that it recently acquired no fewer than three property in the United Kingdom.
It stated; “We want to state today that the report from the investigation has been turned in, we also want to state that other persons who were consulted in this matter have unanimously agreed that the accusations are false since.
“We want to state for the record that,it is public knowledge that the agency has not acquired any property abroad for the past 30 years.”
The coalition noted that NIMASA was one of the agencies of government which has good administration and high level of integrity, adding that the agency has also displayed a high level of compliance to the extant laws guiding its operations.
It added: “While we don’t want to join words with the learned silk, we indeed appreciate his opinions on topics of public concern but it is obvious that he may have been misguided by other persons on this matter.”
The coalition said the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh is known for his proven track records which was devoid of any form of corruption and scandalous act.
The coalition stressed that the accusation of nepotism, mismanagement of funds and awarding fictitious contracts against Jamoh was false and baseless.